Voyages of the Val Jean
by Keolah
Summary: Voyager is destroyed by the Kazon, and some of the crew take refuge on the Maquis vessel Val Jean. Starfleet officers must adjust to being aboard a Maquis ship, as well as earn the trust of the unexpected allies that they have been thrust in with. Getting home again won't be any small task.
1. Stranded

**Episode 1: Val Jean**

* * *

"Damage report!" Chakotay looked out the viewscreen worriedly at the massive Cardassian vessel.

"Shields at sixty percent," said the Vulcan, Tuvok.

There was no way they were going to make it. The much smaller Maquis ship, _Val Jean_, was no match for the Cardassians. Their only hope was to escape into the Badlands. Would they be able to make it? If anyone could make it happen, B'Elanna Torres could. Chakotay couldn't count how many times the half-Klingon woman's engineering expertise had saved them.

The Badlands loomed ahead, plasma fields swirling dangerously. Just a little further. They had to take down their weapon systems to do it, but they made it, the old impulse engines straining all the while. Chakotay would have been more relieved about it if the Cardassians didn't keep pursuing. That was awfully bold of them. Normally they weren't quite this persistent.

And then, unexpectedly, a strange wave of energy struck the ship, and everything faded to white for a moment. The ship lurched, sending the crew tumbling as the inertial dampeners struggled to compensate.

Once things settled down, Chakotay stared at the viewscreen. They were not in the Badlands anymore. There was an alien space station of some sort nearby, sending off energy pulses in one direction.

"Where the hell are we?" Chakotay wondered.

"If these sensor readings are accurate, we are currently seventy thousand lightyears away from our previous position," Tuvok said. "It is, however, entirely possible that they have been damaged."

"Wherever we are, we're not in Kansas any longer," Ayala commented.

"We were not initially in Kansas regardless," Tuvok replied.

"Damn Vulcans," Ayala muttered.

"The array appears to be scanning us," Tuvok said.

And then, the ship around them vanished. They found themselves standing in what appeared to be a farm, with corn growing tall and ponies grazing.

Ayala blinked in puzzlement. "Okay, maybe we _are_ in Kansas after all."

"No, Ayala," Tuvok said, checking a tricorder. "We are inside the array."

The illusion was welcoming, and the people were friendly, but none of it was real. Something was wrong here. Something was very wrong.

* * *

Janeway paced about her ready room on board _Voyager_ worriedly. Her old friend and current security chief, Tuvok, hadn't reported in from his undercover assignment with the Maquis. Had they caught him out and executed him as a Starfleet spy?

The Maquis were troublesome. She had some sympathy for them, but still considered them to be criminals and terrorists. It wasn't like she was overly fond of the Cardassians herself, but the Maquis simply went too far.

And now she'd just recruited another criminal, Tom Paris, to try to help find the ship Tuvok had been on. It takes a thief to catch a thief, she supposed. She had fond memories of his father, Owen Paris, from the ship she had first served on. She didn't really trust Tom, though. Still, she felt like she owed it to his father to give the son a chance at atonement.

She smiled fondly at the memory of the conversation she'd just had with her fiance, Mark, about her pregnant dog. With any luck, she could get this mission done and be home before the puppies were born.

* * *

Tom Paris took his lunch and went over to sit next to Harry Kim. Good kid, even if he seemed a little in over his head. He wondered how long it would take stories about what a bad person he was to get back to the kid. Eh, so long as he didn't have to tell the story again, it was just as well, he supposed.

"Is it true?" Kim asked.

Paris grimaced as he tasted the replicated bowl of tomato soup. Couldn't the replicators ever get anything right? Oh well.

He confirmed the stories for Kim. He lied. He falsified reports. And then he was so haunted with guilt over the deaths of three crewmen that he couldn't live with himself over it. Did that make him a bad person? A good person? Did any of it really matter? When it all boiled down to it, he was a convict, and his admiral father was ashamed to have him as a son.

"They told you to stay away from me, I'm sure," Paris said. "Maybe you should listen to them. I'm not exactly a good luck charm."

"I can choose my friends for myself," Kim replied.

Stubborn kid. Well, if that's the way he wanted it, Paris wasn't about to argue. He certainly had few enough friends at the moment, and the only people who were at all friendly were the ones who wanted something from him.

Speaking of which, there was Janeway calling him up to the bridge now. So much for lunch. Eh, it was crappy soup anyway. He dumped the half-eaten bowl off to be recycled and headed up top. _Voyager_ was approaching the Badlands, and he was the closest thing they had to an expert on the place. If only they'd just let him fly. Expert on the Maquis? Not really. He was just a damned good pilot. If he got himself into less trouble, he might be getting medals thrown at him rather than prison sentences.

The Badlands. Plasma storms, spatial anomalies, what-have-you. A lovely place to get lost forever in. And no sign whatsoever of the Maquis ship that they were looking for, no debris, not even a warp signature. Paris thought the chances of finding _Voyager_'s security chief alive were slim at best, but he knew Chakotay was competent enough not to die quite so readily from a trip into the Badlands.

And then a strange wave came out of nowhere and engulfed the ship. The deck shuddered, and Tom braced himself even as the first officer was thrown across the room. Consoles exploded all around the bridge.

What in the hell was that? That was no plasma storm!

But at least they'd found the Maquis ship. There it was, next to a large space station of some alien design that Paris didn't recognize. And the sensors must be malfunctioning, since they claimed _Voyager_ was on the other side of the galaxy. That couldn't be right.

People were dead all over the ship. And the only clue as to what just happened was that strange space station.

* * *

Chakotay suddenly found himself back on board the _Val Jean_. According to the ship's chronometers, they'd been over there for many days. But it hadn't seemed like nearly that long. And now there was a Starfleet ship out there, too. Damn it! Had they really been tracked down by Starfleet all the way out here?

"Is everyone accounted for?" Chakotay asked.

"B'Elanna is still missing," Ayala said. "Everyone else who is still known to be alive is on board."

"Captain, the Starfleet vessel is hailing us," Tuvok said.

"Let's see what air they're going to blow at us," Chakotay said.

The image of a human woman came on the viewscreen. Captain Kathryn Janeway, and she addressed him by name as well. How did she know his name? Damn, she must have been looking specifically for him. One of their crew members was missing also, and they agreed for the moment to work together to retrieve them. He didn't trust Starfleet, but they were a long way from home, and their ship wasn't really in any shape to fight.

Once aboard the Starfleet ship, Tuvok said to Chakotay, "I must inform you that I was assigned to infiltrate your crew."

Chakotay stared at him for a moment. No wonder Janeway had been led straight to him. And there was Tom Paris, helping them too. Wonderful. Chakotay thought he was more angry at Paris than he was at Tuvok. At least the Vulcan was just doing his duty. What price had bought Paris's help? At least the man seemed to be genuinely concerned about Harry Kim.

* * *

Janeway paced about the bridge in frustration. The last foray onto the array hadn't been particularly helpful. The being there would tell them little, but that he had a debt that he could never repay. So, back aboard _Voyager_, the crew had traced the energy pulses the array was sending off to a planet in a neighboring system, and traveled there in hopes of finding their missing crew members.

Sensors detected a ship nearby, and she spoke briefly with its occupant, who was able to shed a little light on things. A little, at least. The Caretaker, as he was called, was, well, taking care of an alien race called the Ocampa, who lived on the fifth planet. Why he wanted their crew members was still a mystery, however, but it apparently wasn't the first time it had happened.

And then, down on the surface of the planet, they encountered another alien race called the Kazon. They reminded Janeway of the Klingons, but without their redeeming qualities. No, that was probably just unfair prejudice. Still, she couldn't bring herself to be too fond of anyone that abused and enslaved other races, and the way they were disdainful of the Ocampa for being poor servants because they lived only nine years? That wasn't going to make Janeway their friend anytime soon.

Apparently, the Ocampa lived underground, because the surface wasn't very hospitable. One by the name of Kes had wandered to the surface. Then Neelix rashly threatened the Kazon leader, forcing the entire group to beam out quickly. Janeway was a little annoyed at that, but couldn't really blame him too much for it.

After another trip down to the surface, they managed to rescue Ensign Kim and B'Elanna Torres. They got them checked up by the doctor and back to their respective ships. Then, it was back to the array. When they arrived, however, they found a small Kazon fleet already present.

"Captain, we are being hailed," Tuvok said.

"On screen," Janeway said.

"So, have you also come to investigate the strange happenings here?" the Kazon on the viewscreen asked.

"All we care about is getting home," Janeway said. "We're about to return to the array to see about finding a way to do so."

"I'm afraid I cannot allow that. Do not challenge us, or attempt to steal this technology for yourselves."

"We have no intention of challenging you-" Janeway protested, but the connection was cut.

"Captain, they are powering weapons," Tuvok said.

"Damn it," Janeway uttered quietly.

They were badly outnumbered, and there was a massive vessel among the enemy ships. _Voyager_ fought back as best as it could, but it was taking heavy fire. There was no way it could survive this. The shields were ripped apart, and the ship was starting to break apart around them.

"All hands, abandon ship!" Janeway announced over the comm. "Repeat, all hands abandon ship!"

Consoles were exploding all over the bridge. _Voyager_ was doomed, Janeway could see that quite clearly. The captain was supposed to go down with the ship. But what purpose would that serve? That wouldn't save anyone. And there were civilians on board. If she could at least get them safely away, then this might not have all been in vain.

"Come on!" Janeway called to the survivors on the bridge. Tom Paris, Ensign Kim, Tuvok, Neelix and Kes.

They raced toward the turbolift, which creaked a little as it brought them down to deck four, and to the transporter room. When they reached it, the door whooshed open with a burst of heat. The entire transporter room was on fire. There was no getting out that way.

"No go!" Kim said.

"To the shuttle bay!" Janeway said.

Janeway turned back for the lift. It would not descend any further, however. The shuttle bay was two decks down, and they needed to hurry. A panel exploded, catching Kes on the side.

"Kes!" Janeway said. "Are you alright?"

"It stings..." Kes said. She was badly burned along her side and face, but there was no time to stop for first aid now. "I can still run. We've got to get out of here!"

Tuvok opened up an access tube, and they climbed down as quickly as possible. The ship rocked around them, and Ensign Kim lost his grip and went sliding down almost a full deck.

"I think I might have sprained something," Kim said once the others made it down to deck six.

Paris put his arm around Kim and half-dragged him into the shuttle bay. It looked like some other crew members had gotten into shuttlecraft, as several of them were missing. The six of them got into one of the remaining ones.

"Paris, get us out of here!" Janeway cried.

Paris didn't need to be told twice. He took the helm of the shuttle and flew them out of the ship, narrowly escaping the shuttle by being engulfed in fire.

The damaged remnants of _Voyager_, parts of it still exploding, crashed into the array as Janeway looked on in horror from the relative safety of the shuttle. Both of them were destroyed as they collide, exploding into a field of debris. Some of the Kazon ships were caught in the shockwave or struck by debris, and were destroyed or damaged themselves.

Under Paris's guidance, the shuttle weaved and dodged incoming fire. One shot clipped the shuttlecraft, and something burst in back into a shower of sparks.

"We've lost the starboard engine!" Paris said, still attempting to pilot the crippled shuttlecraft. Then, miraculously, the Maquis ship swooped in out of nowhere to save them. "They're tractoring us in."

As the shuttlecraft was docked in the ship's small shuttle bay, the Kazon were still attacking. The already-damaged Maquis ship was desperately doing all it could to avoid being destroyed itself.

Piling out of the shuttlecraft, the six of them rushed toward the bridge. They weren't out of this yet. Seeing Chakotay at the helm, Paris ran up to him.

"Let me take control," Paris said. "I can get us out of here!"

"You?" Chakotay said dubiously.

"Not much time to argue," Janeway pointed out. "He's a damned good pilot, whatever else might be said of him."

"If you get us killed, I'll kill you," Chakotay said, stepping aside for Paris to take the helm.

Paris took control, and skillfully evaded the Kazon vessels. "I don't know how long I can keep this up, though. We need to get to warp and get out of here!"

Chakotay got on the comm and said, "B'Elanna, how are those repairs coming?"

"Just give me a few more minutes," came the reply.

Paris continued to keep the ship from taking too much fire. Shortly, the warp engines came back online.

"Set a course for anywhere," Chakotay said. "Get us out of here!"

The stars streaked by as the ship went to warp, leaving their pursues behind. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They'd gotten away.

"Too damned close," Chakotay muttered.

"Damn those Kazon," Neelix said.

"Thanks for the rescue," Janeway said, sighing and pressing her fingers to the bridge of her nose. "What a disaster. My ship destroyed on its first mission. Almost a hundred and fifty crew members dead."

"Some of the might have made it out of the ship safely," Ensign Kim said.

"And some might have been captured by the Kazon," Tuvok added helpfully.

"There's not much that can be done about it now," Chakotay said.

"Is there anything good about today?" Janeway said in exasperation.

"We're still alive," Ensign Kim said.

"Thank you, Mr. Optimism," Janeway said. "Although I suppose being alive and on board a ship that's not about to blow up is indeed a good thing."

"You're on board a ship that you were trying to capture so that you could arrest us all," Chakotay pointed out.

"Because those were my orders, and that was my duty," Janeway replied. "Now, it's my duty to get you all safely home. To stand trial for your crimes."

"Bold words, considering that you only have three people on your side," Chakotay said. "Four, if you bribed Paris enough."

"Well, I'm hardly going to attack you _now_ or anything," Janeway said. "But at least we could be back home in seventy or so years."

Chakotay snorted. "That was with your brand-new top-of-the-line Starfleet drive. The _Val Jean_'s engines are almost as old as I am. Do you have any idea how long it would take _this_ ship to get us home?"

"No, I don't," Janeway said. As if seventy years wasn't bad enough. Was she ever going to see Mark again?

"Neither do I," Chakotay said. "Our best estimates were three to five centuries."

"We'd all be dead by that point!" Ensign Kim exclaimed.

"So whether or not you want to arrest us is irrelevent," Chakotay said, looking over the Starfleet officers, Tom Paris, and the two aliens. "We'll drop you lot off at the nearest Class M planet."

Janeway started in alarm, quickly hiding the sudden panic from her face. She didn't think Chakotay would really do it, not after they'd worked together to retrieve their crew members, for all the good that wound up doing. But she wasn't about to take the chance of being left alone somewhere, marooned in the middle of nowhere with no hope of ever seeing another human being again.

"I appreciate the offer," Neelix put in. "But Kes and I would like to continue on your journey with you."

"This isn't a passenger ship," Chakotay said. "Why should I take you along?"

"Well, you're deep into unfamiliar territory," Neelix said. "We could be valuable assets. Guide, cook, supply procurement..."

"Alright, you're in," Chakotay said, turning his attention to the others.

"And you've got to take me," Paris said. "I'm the best pilot you could hope for."

"And how long before you sell us out and betray us again?" Chakotay asked.

"Hey, I just saved all of your lives," Paris said. "That's got to count for something, right?"

"Fine," Chakotay said reluctantly.

"That just leaves us, doesn't it," Janeway said. "We can pull our own weight."

"I'll not have Starfleet that means to arrest us on my ship," Chakotay pointed out.

"You can't just leave us behind!" Ensign Kim protested.

"I can and I will," Chakotay said. "Just watch me."

"We could be competent crew members," Janeway said.

Chakotay stalked up to her. "You pursue me to the other side of the galaxy, talk about arresting me, and at the first sign of leaving you behind, you're begging to be a part of my crew? Why should I trust you?"

"I'm not _begging_," Janeway said.

"And you still haven't given me a good reason," Chakotay said. "If you want to be a part of this crew, you'd need to follow _my_ orders. We're going to be looking for a way home by any means necessary. And we're not going to be following Starfleet regulations and protocol to do it, either."

"Your ship, your rules," Janeway said.

Chakotay turned to Tuvok and said, "And you. You were spying for her the whole time?"

"I was," Tuvok replied.

"You might as well have not bothered blowing your cover," Paris put in.

"I know perfectly well that your loyalty is to her and not to me," Chakotay said. He then moved his attention to Harry Kim. "And what about you? What are you, some green recruit? Fresh out of the Academy?"

"Um... Yes, sir."

"So, would you just blindly follow Starfleet to wherever it leads you, or do you have a mind of your own?" Chakotay asked.

"I have a mind of my own, sir," Kim said. "And I'd prefer to stay with my friends, Tom and B'Elanna." He glanced to Janeway and added, "No offense."

"None taken," Janeway replied. It was good to see the young ensign stand up for himself.

Chakotay chuckled. "This one's got some spirit in him. Fine, you can stay, but don't call me 'sir'. This isn't Starfleet."

"Yes, s- Chakotay," Kim said. He looked to Tom and said, "Looks like you were my good luck charm after all. I'm still alive when everyone else is dead!"

"I'm not sure that I'd really call that 'good' luck," Tom replied.

He returned his attention to Janeway and Tuvok. "As for you two. I'm not actually going to strand anyone anywhere unless they really want to be left somewhere."

"I'm glad to hear that," Janeway said.

"We lost a number of hands ourselves," Chakotay said. "We'll take all the help we can get. Provided, of course, that you can be trusted."

"I don't care if you have me swabbing the deck," Janeway said.

"That would be a waste of your skills," Chakotay said. "But if I can't trust you with anything else, then that's what I will do." He shakes his head. "We're not going to decide anything right now. You lot can get some quarters and rest. It's been a rough time on all of us."

* * *

Janeway's new quarters were small, but more than she might have hoped for under the circumstances. She's even gotten a room to herself, after all. That wasn't necessarily an entirely good thing, however, as it left her alone to her thoughts.

Thankfully, she soon received a reprieve when the door chimed. "Enter."

The door whooshed open, and Tuvok came inside. Janeway gave a small smile. She was glad to see him. After everything that had happened today, she was in dire need of a friend, even if she was loath to admit it. And most of those she would have called a friend were now dead or very, very far away.

"Captain," Tuvok began.

"I'm not your captain anymore, Tuvok. Call me Kathryn."

"Kathryn," Tuvok said more softly. "What is our next plan of action?"

"For once, I honestly don't know," Janeway admitted. "Everything has gone wrong. We couldn't have planned for any of this. _Voyager_ destroyed, everyone dead, and us stranded alone on a Maquis ship halfway across the galaxy. Where did I go so wrong? How did I fail them all so badly?"

"Blaming yourself for the events is emotional and illogical. You did everything you could. There was nothing more that you could have done."

"I know," Janeway said. "Logically, I know this. But humans are not always logical creatures."

"So I have noticed," Tuvok commented.

"And much as I dislike the situation, antagonizing the Maquis isn't going to help. By all rights, they have no reason to help us. And Starfleet is a long, long way away."

"Are you suggesting that we actually join them?" Tuvok asked.

"I don't see as how we have much choice, under the circumstances," Janeway said. "What are we going to do? Have them drop us off at the next civilized planet? Try to buy a new ship from some friendly aliens? No, I think our best chances of survival, never mind getting home, require sticking together."

"I will remain with you no matter what you choose to do," Tuvok said.

"I appreciate your loyalty. I just don't know that I still deserve it."

"What you think you deserve is irrelevent. _I_ still think you do."

"You have more confidence in me than I feel at the moment," Janeway said. "Maybe I should get some rest."

"Perhaps you will be able to think more clearly after you get some sleep," Tuvok suggested.

* * *

After several hours of sleep, Janeway woke and went to get dressed. Her quarters already contained some civilian clothing, probably having formerly belonged to the room's previous occupant, who had been killed. Janeway felt a little uncomfortable wearing a dead woman's clothes, but there was no point in being wasteful, and even less in hanging around a Maquis vessel wearing a Starfleet uniform. Fortunately, the woman had been about the same size as Janeway, and the clothes were a good fit for her.

Janeway headed out to find the mess hall and get some breakfast. She wasn't sure how she could think of food under the circumstances, but her stomach wasn't wanting to be argued with. Not sure where the mess hall was, she tried to stop a passing crew member.

"Excuse me, but could you point me toward the mess hall, please?"

The Maquis man kept walking without hardly casting a side glance toward her. Well, that was rude, but she could hardly blame him, she supposed. She continued on and approached a young woman, and repeated her question.

"If you're going to eat our food, Starfleet, you'd better pull your weight," the Maquis woman replied.

"I intend to do just that," Janeway assured her.

The woman sighed. "Fine, I suppose I should treat you like any other new recruit, then, but I still don't trust you, Starfleet. I'll show you to the mess hall. I'm heading that way myself."

"Thank you. And I do have a name, you know. Kathryn Janeway. What's your name?"

"Mariah Henley. But don't think this makes us friends, _Janeway_."

Henley showed her to the mess hall, and they went over to get some breakfast. The _Val Jean_'s replicator was old and had only a limited selection of food available. Janeway got herself a cup of coffee and some oatmeal, and went over to find a place to sit. There was a spot available by Chakotay. Good, she wanted to talk to him anyway.

"Gave up the uniform already?" Chakotay said as she sat down next to him.

"I'm not on duty and I'm not on a Starfleet vessel," Janeway said, taking a sip of her coffee. It tasted like toxic sludge. "Ugh. And right now, I'd kill for a good cup of coffee."

Chakotay chuckled softly. "Get used to it. At least it's still caffeinated. And that the replicator is even still working, given how much damage we've taken."

"So, have you decided on what you're going to do with me?" Janeway asked.

"Well, that entirely depends upon you," Chakotay said. "And how much you're feeling like trying to cling to Starfleet."

"Let's see," Janeway said. "I failed in my mission. I abandoned my crew. I didn't go down with the ship. They might just court-martial me."

"I'd generally consider not going down with the ship to be the smart thing to do," Chakotay said.

"I still expected more people to get off of it alive," Janeway said.

"Still, what more could you have done? Hauled them all off of it yourself?"

"Maybe not have angered the Kazon in the first place."

"Now that's just crazy talk," Chakotay said, smirking.

"So, do you have a position for me?" Janeway asked.

"This isn't a Starfleet vessel. We aren't quite so big on formality around here. The crew aren't likely to trust you at first, but you helped save B'Elanna, so that's some points there. Still, if you want respect, you're going to have to earn it, rather than thinking that it's merely your due given your rank in Starfleet."

"Understood," Janeway said. "Well, I was a science officer once, back in the day. And I promise that if I ever have to realign any positronic relays, that I won't accidentally knock out power to six decks again."

Chakotay chuckled. "There's a lot of repairs that need to be made. And a lot of things just need to be replaced, period. We're going to need to set down somewhere and see what can be done. There's no way these old jury-rigged engines are going to get us very far."

"I'll see what I can do to help," Janeway said.

"I'm glad to hear it," Chakotay said. "We can use all the help we can get right now."

"What's the damage like?" Janeway asked.

"Life support and artificial gravity are fine, at least," Chakotay said. "Good thing they build those to last. We have one crappy replicator. A warp drive that might fall apart and strand us in deep space at any moment. The transporters and weapons systems are out. The shields took a real pounding."

"What about the people?" Janeway asked. "How many casualties?"

"We had a crew of fifty before this," Chakotay said. "Some dead by the Cardassians, others by being roughly ripped across the galaxy, still others from the Kazon. Now, counting the new additions, we have thirty-six."

"Thirty-six..." Janeway murmured.

She had always held some sympathies toward the Maquis, but she'd never considered actually joining them. Now, however, those distinctions were pretty irrelevent. This was the only ship she had at the moment. The only hope she had left. She wasn't about to let that slip away by holding onto petty grievances that now felt very far away.

"Well," Janeway said, finishing up her breakfast. "It sounds like there's a lot to be done, then. I'd best get to work."


	2. Shelter

**Episode 2: Shelter**

* * *

"They call themselves the Bitani," Neelix said. "Friendly sorts. Provided you aren't Kazon. They might be able to help us."

"Sounds like just what we need," Chakotay said. "We've done what repairs we can in space, but we desperately need to just set down somewhere and do some overhauls. Would we be able to trade for resources there also?"

"They aren't a spacefaring people, but they're not primitives, either," Neelix said. "They'll at least have metals and whatnot available."

"Not spacefaring?" Janeway said, stepping into the conversation with a look of concern.

Chakotay grunted in annoyance. "Don't tell me you're still worried about the Prime Directive."

"It exists for a reason," Janeway said.

The last thing Chakotay needed was for Janeway to try to start hampering him with Starfleet crap. "This isn't a Starfleet ship, Janeway. We don't need to follow those regulations. And even if it were, we badly need to put down for repairs."

"I don't know what this Prime Directive might be," Neelix said. "But it's not like they haven't had contact with spacefaring people before. I've traded with them plenty of times."

"Just... never mind," Janeway said, shaking her head. "It's not important, I suppose." She walked off again, looking like she just swallowed a leech in order to say that.

"What was she on about, anyway?" Neelix wondered, lowering his voice.

"The Prime Directive is a Starfleet regulation against interfering with alien cultures," Chakotay explained distastefully. "It's particularly intended to protect pre-spaceflight species from abuse, but some captains wind up using it as a straitjacket, often interpreting it differently in every possible situation."

"But this isn't a Starfleet vessel, so I don't see how it applies," Neelix said.

"Exactly," Chakotay said. "I don't care if _she_ doesn't want to interfere, she can't stop _us_ from doing so if we have to. And I'm not exactly planning on putting down on a Stone Age planet and proclaiming myself to be a deity or anything."

"I think she's still upset that we couldn't find any survivors from her crew when we went back for them," Neelix said.

"If there were any, then the Kazon must have gotten them," Chakotay said. "Not much we can do about it in our current condition, though."

* * *

The _Val Jean_ dropped out of warp above the Bitani homeworld. Janeway watched as the blue-green planet grew closer on the viewscreen. It looked like a rather nice planet, and sprawling cities could be seen even from orbit.

Janeway didn't like this one bit. A Starfleet officer should be willing to uphold the Prime Directive at all costs, even at the expense of their own lives if need be. She should be doing something to prevent this. So why was she just standing on the bridge watching quietly?

Maybe because she wanted to get home as badly as everyone else on this ship.

Coming in out of orbit, the _Val Jean_ entered the planet's atmosphere, aiming for the outskirts of one of the populated areas.

"Captain, sensors are picking up weapons on the surface," Janeway said. "They're targeting us."

"Whoa!" Paris said, banking the ship sharply to avoid a plasma blast. "I thought you said these people were friendly!"

"I don't understand!" Neelix protested. "They've never attacked me before!"

"Shields at seventy percent," Tuvok said. "Rerouting power to shields and engines."

Janeway was alarmed. These were awfully powerful weapons for a pre-spaceflight civilization. The last thing they needed was to be blown up by mistake after surviving everything else they'd gone through to get here.

"Hail them," Chakotay said. "Let them know we mean them no harm."

Paris evaded a few more attacks. The _Val Jean_ wasn't really designed for atmospheric combat, but Paris made it do acrobatics anyway.

"No response," Tuvok said.

The Bitani ground turrets continued to fire upon them, clipping the ship and sending it careening toward the surface.

"Whether they want us here or not, we're going down!" Paris cried.

"All hands, brace for impact!" Chakotay shouted over the comm.

They came down into a rural area some ways away from the nearest population center. The _Val Jean_ made a bumpy landing on the planet's surface, but at least it was actually a landing rather than a crash. They came to a stop in a field of yellow grain, leaving a long furrow in the crops behind them.

"Phew," Paris said. "I should get a medal for that one."

"Sorry, no medals," Chakotay said. "How about a pat on the back?"

"I'll settle for that," Paris said, chuckling.

"Let's get started on the repairs," Chakotay said. "Who knows how long until the welcoming committee will arrive?"

It's about half an hour before a small military company appears on censors, approaching the _Val Jean_, who would arrive at their location in another half hour at the rate they were going.

"Still no response?" Chakotay asked.

"I'm terribly sorry about this all," Neelix said. "How embarrassing. I was just trying to be helpful. I never thought they'd actually attack us."

"There had better be a good explanation for this, or you're getting left here," Chakotay snapped at him.

"Let me talk to them," Janeway said. "Maybe we can still resolve this peacefully."

"Fine," Chakotay said. "But if diplomacy should fail, then we're resorting to force."

They let down the landing ramp, and Janeway, Neelix, and Kes stepped outside. They approached the Bitani military, holding up their hands to show that they were unarmed. Neelix ensured that they would recognize the gesture and not inadvertently mistake it as an aggressive one. Always a concern when encountering a new culture.

The leader of the Bitani held up a hand to the others, and went up to speak with the three of them along with a small squad of guards. Underneath the helmet, he was a yellow-skinned alien with horizontal forehead ridges.

"I am Major Ebaral. Who are you, and what is your business on our world?"

"We mean you no harm," Janeway said. "Our ship had been badly damaged fighting the Kazon, and we were looking for a safe refuge to land, trade for much-needed supplies, and make repairs."

"I told them you people were friendly!" Neelix said. "I've traded with you plenty of times before. Why did you attack us?"

"We tried to contact you, but we didn't get any response," Janeway added.

Ebaral's face twitched. "You are not with the Kazon?"

"Most definitely not," Janeway said.

"Your people must remember me. Surely you have records or something somewhere of Neelix the Talaxian. This isn't the ship I was with before. I'm traveling with newcomers to this part of space now."

"I must contact my superiors in order to clear up the situation," Ebaral said. "My troops will take up positions here for your own safety. I will get back to you momentarily."

Major Ebaral went back to his unit, and after speaking with them briefly, he pulled out a hand-held comm device. It seemed to Janeway that these people must be just pre-warp. Their level of technology seemed similar to that of Earth during the 21st century. They were not primitive at all.

After a few minutes, Ebaral returned to them. "On behalf of my people, I offer my profuse apologies. Is there anything we can do for you to help make up for this misunderstanding?"

"We just need a safe place to make some repairs to our ship," Janeway said.

"Of course, of course," Ebaral said. "Our resources are at your disposal. We can have material shipped in to this location if you need them."

"We'd be willing to trade you for supplies, of course," Neelix said.

"A word to the wise," Janeway said. "Don't be so eager to make new enemies. We could be valuable allies instead."

"I apologize again," Ebaral said. "The Kazon have left us a little paranoid. They come to raid our planet, and there's little we can do to stop them. So we built our turret system to try to keep them away. It hasn't been good enough, however."

"Maybe there's something we can do to help," Neelix said. "These people I'm traveling with now have some amazing technology. We'll have to talk to the captain about it, though."

That would be a clear violation of the Prime Directive. But the Bitani were already facing interference from a spacefaring civilization, the Kazon. There were provisions toward that sort of thing, but they tended to involve repairing the damage from the previous contact and ensuring that it didn't happen again. As it was, it was far too late to make the Bitani forget about space, and neither were they in a position to do much about the Kazon.

Janeway was pensively quiet as she climbed back up the landing ramp along with Neelix, Kes, and Ebaral. They gathered up with Chakotay in the _Val Jean_'s small conference room, and made some quick introductions.

"So, has the situation been resolved?" Chakotay said. "Are your people going to stop shooting at us now?"

"A terrible misunderstanding," Ebaral said. "And I'm just going to have to keep apologizing for it, aren't I. An army major, sent to deal with new aliens, just because I happened to be closest. We haven't really made the best first impression, I'm afraid, and I may not be the best person for this job. This isn't what I'm trained for. I hope you can understand that."

"I'm not going to hold that against you, Major," Chakotay said. "You wouldn't be the first person to have to clean up for their superiors' mistakes."

"I never expected I'd be representing my people in front of an entirely new alien race," Ebaral said. "Neelix said that you might be willing to trade with us? We've been having a good deal of trouble with the Kazon lately, and we would be grateful for any technology you would be willing to share with us to help against them."

"I'm sure something can be arranged," Chakotay said. "Let me discuss things with my crew, and see what we may be able to do."

"Thank you," Ebaral said. He gave a snappy bow and left the ship.

Once he was gone, Chakotay turned and said, "Not harping on about the Prime Directive, Janeway?"

Janeway grunted. "It's hard to know what's the right thing to do sometimes."

"I don't see how it's any sort of big moral dilemma," Neelix said. "The Kazon have been raiding their planet. You're in a position to help. I don't understand how helping them would be somehow wrong."

"It's a complicated matter," Janeway said. "Where do you draw the line? Do you cure a plague ravaging a primitive world? Divert an asteroid? Stop a war?"

"The Bitani aren't primitive people," Kes pointed out.

"It's a wonder your Federation can interact with other species at all," Neelix observed.

"I'm with Neelix on this one," Chakotay said. "There's no need for any false moral dilemma here. Even if this were a Starfleet ship and we were adhering to the Prime Directive, the Kazon have _already_ interfered with their natural development. And we need their help. Without their resources, with the damage we've sustained, we might not even get back into space again. Are you willing to die for your precious Prime Directive, Janeway?"

Janeway sighed and leaned against the table, staring into its surface. "I should be. But I really don't see what the point would be."

"I'd prefer to run this ship with common sense, rather than blind adherence to regulations, however well-intended that they might have been originally," Chakotay said.

Janeway gave a small nod, took a deep breath, and said, "So. What are we going to give them?"

"We?" Chakotay said, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I'm a member of this crew. I'm not going to stand by and pretend I had nothing to do with it, as if to distance myself from the matter. In for a penny, in for a pound, as the old saying goes."

Chakotay chuckled. "Very well. I was thinking we might supply them with shield technology to help protect against the Kazon."

"Shields. Shields are good," Janeway said. "Let's do it."

* * *

Tom Paris could hardly believe that the _Val Jean_'s replicator made even worse tomato soup than _Voyager_'s.

"Harry," Tom said, sitting down next to him in the mess hall. "How's your leg?"

"Much better," Harry replied. "Doc Smithee fixed it right up. For all she claims that she isn't really a doctor, she seems to know what she's doing well enough."

"That's good. So, how are you adjusting to life as a Maquis?"

"I'm a Maquis now?" Harry said, raising an eyebrow.

Tom snickered softly. Good kid, but a bit slow on the uptake sometimes. "No doubt Starfleet will think of it that way, if we ever actually manage to get back there."

"You're probably right," Harry said. "And after the disaster of winding up here, I'm just kind of glad that I never even had the chance to get to know anyone on _Voyager_."

"Yeah," Tom said. "Small consolation. Some of the people here lost old friends and colleagues. Are we really the lucky ones, though?"

Tom hardly knew anyone on the ship, and those he knew, he didn't know very well. At least there was Harry. One friend in a sea of distrust, even if he did seem a little naive and optimistic at times.

"We'll make new friends," Harry said. "At least we're not stranded out here alone. And if my crewmates are going to be Maquis, then I'll learn to like the Maquis. I'm not going to let whatever unfortunate stories I've heard about them get in the way of that, anymore than I did with you."

"We're members of this crew now," Tom said. "We'd best get used to thinking of _ourselves_ as Maquis. And not just stuck on a ship in the middle of nowhere with them."

Harry nodded. "Yeah. I know. It's just going to take some getting used to. That's all. It already took some getting used to being in uniform and following orders and regulations, and I'd planned on that. This, I couldn't have seen coming."

"You can't plan for everything," Tom said. "Life's all about being flexible enough to grab whatever opportunities come your way."

"So being stranded on a small ship thousands of lightyears from home isn't a problem, it's an opportunity?" Harry asked.

"Exactly!" Tom said.

"Hmm," Harry said. "I suppose, when you put it that way, it isn't so bad. I was always kind of afraid that there wasn't much left to explore around Federation space. And now we're out here, and everything is fresh and new again."

"There you go," Tom said. "It's all about putting things in the proper perspective."

* * *

"I didn't think I would see _you_ willfully violating the Prime Directive," Ayala said, sitting across from Janeway at breakfast the next day.

"Yes, well, if they decide that it even applies in this case, they can court-martial me posthumously, provided they ever find out what even happened to us," Janeway replied. "Assuming that they haven't already court-martialed me for losing my ship and crew, or serving on a Maquis vessel."

Janeway tried to tell herself that she didn't need to feel guilty about this all. The Bitani were quite grateful and willing to supply anything they needed. The _Val Jean_ might even be spaceworthy again soon.

A woman whose name she didn't know yet came up to their table and said, "Hey, good job on negotiating with those aliens."

"Does everyone on this ship know about it already?" Janeway asked incredulously. "And I'm afraid I didn't catch your name."

"Liz Laird. And pretty much, yeah. It's a small ship. News travels fast."

"I heard you even went to deliver the shield schematics yourself," Ayala said.

"I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty," Janeway said.

"I've seen you helping with the repairs, too," Laird said. "Some of the others might still have misgivings about you, but if I have anything to say about it, you're a welcome addition to the crew. Even if you _were_ a Starfleet captain."

"Thanks, Laird," Janeway said, giving a small smile.

Janeway hadn't intended this to be merely a scheme to get in good with the Maquis, but if it helped to get the crew to trust her more, she wasn't going to complain about it. And honestly, shouldn't she feel more guilty about losing _Voyager_ than about giving the Bitani some badly needed help against aggressive and more advanced aliens?

* * *

B'Elanna looked over the equipment that the Bitani had brought to the ship. With the Maquis, she was used to working with low standards, but they must be really desperate if this was the best they could do.

"I guess I'm supposed to get creative with this, too?" B'Elanna muttered to Chakotay.

"I'm sure you can manage something," Chakotay said. "I have faith in you."

"I've come up with a way to get the engines working a lot better," B'Elanna said. "But I'd need to cannibalize the transporter systems to do it."

"The transporters?" Chakotay said. "Those are somewhat important. Is that the only way we can manage it?"

"The transporters are fried anyway," B'Elanna said. "Fixing those would require parts we simply don't have access to here and now. The Heisenberg compensator is beyond repair."

"I guess we're stuck with shuttlecraft for the moment, then," Chakotay said. "See what you can do."

"I'll get this engine rebuilt if I have to give the Bitani schematics myself so that they can construct the parts I need to fix it," B'Elanna said. "And if those Starfleet goons give me any flak about the Prime Directive, I can just tell them to shove it."

"I doubt that, after Janeway delivered the shield schematics to them herself," Chakotay said.

"I heard about that, but I think it's just a ploy. I still don't trust her."

"She did help save you when you were abducted by the Caretaker," Chakotay reminded her.

"But would she have done so if there hadn't been one of her own crew taken too?" B'Elanna replied. She had nothing against Harry Kim. He was a decent enough sort, for Starfleet, and he seemed to be fitting in well enough here.

"Give her a chance," Chakotay said. "She _is_ a member of this crew now."

"Yeah," B'Elanna said.

"I'll let you get back to work."

Chakotay turned and left her alone with her machines. And B'Elanna had a lot of work to do. It was going to take a while to get this all working again. Damned Bitani. She couldn't blame them for being paranoid about the Kazon, but did they really have to ruin all the work she'd already managed to accomplish in getting the ship working again as well as it was?

* * *

The repairs were going better than Chakotay could have hoped for. The Bitani certainly _were_ friendly after the initial rocky start, and were eager to help them, so they spent some weeks on the planet's surface overhauling the _Val Jean_ as best as they could with the resources available to them.

"Captain," Tuvok said, interrupting his thoughts. "Sensors have picked up several Kazon ships approaching the planet."

"Damn," Chakotay muttered. "Notify the Bitani, if they haven't detected them already."

At least they were able to connect properly with the natives now. Who knew that their communications systems weren't quite as universal as they'd hoped? It would have been helpful if Neelix had shared that little detail with them, too. Maybe it just hadn't occurred to him. Benefit of the doubt.

"Incoming response," Tuvok said. "Audio only."

"We've detected the Kazon vessels and are moving to deal with them," came the reply over the comm. "Stay put. We will protect you."

Chakotay nodded. "Acknowledged."

"Stay put?" Paris said incredulously. "We're sitting ducks down here!"

"We're not going anywhere. Our engines are offline and not even currently functional," Chakotay said. "We've got some weapons systems ready, though, so we can give them some fire support at least."

"I don't know that they'll really need it, with those turrets, but alright," Paris said. "I don't like being grounded during a fight, though."

"Neither do I," Chakotay said.

He went over to look at the tactical readout. There were half a dozen small Kazon ships, not the larger one that had so devastated Voyager. As he watched, they swept in and tried to make an air strike against one of the guarded facilities. One of the enemy ships winked out, and then another, and another. The remaining three vessels retreated. Chakotay breathed a sigh of relief, and a small smile worked its way onto his face. It felt good to help these people against their oppressors.

"We owe you, Maquis," spoke the comm. "Our new shields held. We fought them off without sustaining any serious damage ourselves."

"They may return with a higher degree of firepower," Tuvok said.

"Perhaps. But you've given us a fighting chance against them, now."

Janeway came onto the bridge. "What was this I hear about a fight?"

"It's over now," Chakotay told her.

"You're late to the party," Paris said lightly.

"We were not, in fact, actually engaging in combat ourselves," Tuvok said.

"The Bitani fought off the Kazon with the help of the shields we gave them," Chakotay said.

"The Kazon attacked?" Janeway said. "Do they know we're here?"

"Unknown," Tuvok replied.

Janeway sighed and walked up to a station to look over the readouts from the battle. "We shouldn't stay here any longer than we have to. We wouldn't want to make the Bitani any more of a target than they already are."

"I doubt they realize that we're hiding out here yet, but there's some point to that," Chakotay said. "The Bitani can't protect us forever."

"The shield technology that we supplied them with will not be adequate against the type of vessel we encountered at the Caretaker array," Tuvok pointed out.

Chakotay nodded, but he wasn't looking at Tuvok. He was looking over Janeway thoughtfully. She'd surprised him more than once already. Maybe this would work out better than he'd feared.

"Janeway," Chakotay said quietly to her. "May I speak with you in private for a moment?"

"Of course," Janeway said, heading off into the small conference room with him. "What is it?"

"There's something I wanted to ask you. You _are_ experienced with command. Many of the Maquis only know how to fight or fix things. Would you serve as my second in command?"

Janeway looked taken aback by the question. "Are you certain that's what you want?"

"I need everyone doing what they do best," Chakotay said, and chuckled. "And you'd be wasted swabbing the decks. You did well negotiating with the Bitani. I'd like to see more of that in the future."

"I'm no diplomat," Janeway said.

"You're the closest thing we've got," Chakotay said. "You're still Starfleet trained. Can you imagine any of the Maquis handling first contact situations? That's not something any of us were anticipating, in the Demilitarized Zone."

Chakotay imagined B'Elanna trying to handle a first contact situation, thinking on how she'd been taken prisoner by the Caretaker. It was a wonder that the Ocampa weren't trying to kill them, too.

"I see your point," Janeway said. "Very well. If that's what you want, then I will do my best. But if I'm to be your first officer, then I _will_ be offering my opinions and letting you know if I disagree on something."

"I'll listen to the opinions of any of my crew, regardless of their station. But yes, I would expect that of my first officer. Just no more touting Starfleet regulations."

"Understood. It won't happen again."


	3. Exposure

**Episode 3: Exposure**

* * *

"First officer's log, Stardate 48527.4. We have left the Bitani homeworld. The ship is in far better condition than it was when we arrived. All systems are fully functional except for the transporters. The Bitani also gave us medical supplies and enough real food to last three months off that alone."

"You know, you don't actually have to keep logs like that," Chakotay said, leaning against the doorframe and looking over with amusement toward Janeway at the desk.

Janeway chuckled. She hadn't heard him come in. "Force of habit."

"I suppose some organization doesn't hurt," Chakotay said. "But do you really want to leave records of all the Starfleet regulations you're violating?" He grinned at her.

"At least they'll know which things to court-martial me over," Janeway replied.

"Care to head to the mess hall and have a cup of _motchi_?" Chakotay asked.

"Oh, yes," Janeway said, standing up and following him out. It wasn't coffee, but much sweeter. Although she prefered her coffee black, she'd certainly take what she could get. "Has there been any luck in growing our own?"

"Kes and Gerron have been working on it," Chakotay said. "Have you seen the new airponics bay?"

"Shouldn't that be 'aeroponics'?" Janeway replied.

Chakotay shrugged. "Whatever it is, they're looking to see if they can cultivate some of the plants the Bitani gave us in order to supplement our food supplies. Who knows how long before the replicator goes out? B'Elanna tried fixing it with some parts from the cannibalized transporter, but it didn't seem to help much."

"Captain," came Tuvok's voice over the comm. "I've picked up a distress signal from a nearby system."

"Well, it's not really our business, but we might as well see if we can help," Chakotay said. "But be cautious. Any sign of more trouble than we can handle, and we're gone."

"Understood," Tuvok replied.

"I guess the _motchi_ can wait," Janeway said.

* * *

"A small vessel," Tuvok said. "One lifeform on board. The vessel does not appear damaged, but the being's lifesigns are weak."

"Perhaps wounded, and escaped," Chakotay said. "Bring it on board."

Since the ship wasn't responding to their hails and appeared to be adrift, they tractored it on board into the shuttle bay. Chakotay wondered if the alien had been fleeing from the Kazon, or had been injured in some way.

Chakotay went down to the shuttle bay, along with Janeway, Tuvok, and Neelix. Dr. Smithee joined them there as well. The vessel they'd picked up was smooth and rounded, smaller than a shuttlecraft, perhaps little more than a glorified escape pod. Without any warp engines, there was no way that it could have originated from out of system. It must have launched from a larger ship that had been in the system, or from a base somewhere nearby.

"Open it up," Chakotay said.

After a bit of poking at it, they got the craft's hatch to whoosh open. Laying on the floor inside, there was a gray-skinned alien with four curved horns on top of his head. There were no visible signs of injury, although he did not appear to be conscious. Off to one side, there was a small tray of red flowers sitting on a shelf.

"A Kunar?" Neelix said, looking at the alien.

"What's wrong with him?" Chakotay wondered.

Smithee approached with a medical tricorder as Janeway went over to examine the flowers. "I'm detecting no signs of external injury, however, his internal organs appear to be shutting down."

"What, is he sick or something?" Chakotay asked.

"My best guess would be that this is some sort of disease," Smithee said.

"Is it contagious?" Janeway asked in alarm, looking up from the flowers.

"If it is, we may have already been infected," Tuvok said. "I would like to point out that it is for reasons like this that Starfleet safety protocols exist."

Chakotay grunted in annoyance. "Get our guest to sickbay and try to find out what's wrong with him."

"Of course," Smithee said, nodding to him.

"We should also quarantine ourselves to ensure that we will not infect the rest of the crew," Tuvok said.

"I'm not going to argue, this time," Chakotay said. "But if it's airborne, there's not much that can be done. The air in this room is already being circulated."

Smithee did thorough scans of them and shook her head. "I'm not detecting any sort of bacteria or viruses that might cause problems for the species on board the ship. No need to panic."

"Good," Chakotay said.

"I would feel more comfortable if we had an actual doctor on board the ship," Tuvok said.

Chakotay glared at the Vulcan in irritation. "Right, let's just request one from the nearest starbase, why don't we?"

Damned Starfleet. He might have a point sometimes, but Chakotay didn't need to be criticized over what he had no control over. Ann Smithee might not be Starfleet trained, but she knew more about medicine than anyone else on the ship, even if that might not really be saying much.

Janeway sneezed, and everyone present looked to her in concern. "Relax, it was just a sneeze."

"Just a sneeze," Chakotay repeated.

* * *

Janeway sniffled a little as she looked over the data on the Kunar and his vessel. What a time to get a cold. She was stuck in sickbay with everyone afraid that she'd caught some alien disease. She supposed that she couldn't blame them, but there was work to be doing!

"Do we have any idea where the craft originated from?" Janeway asked Chakotay over the comm.

"There's no habitable planets in this system," Chakotay replied. "We did a thorough scan, and didn't come up with any nearby bases, either. He must have been on a ship passing through the system."

"And, what, they just left him here because he was dying or something?" Janeway said.

"Perhaps trying to minimize contamination among their own crew," Chakotay said.

"Tuvok's right, you know," Janeway said. "Without a medical expert on the crew, we're going to need to be especially careful."

"We can't be spending hours checking and decontaminating every time we come to a new planet," Chakotay said, sneezing.

"Why can't we?" Janeway said. "And don't tell me you're sneezing now, too?"

"I do hope this is nothing serious," Chakotay said, sighing as he turned away from the screen to glance about himself. "Because everyone on the bridge is sniffling now except for Tuvok."

"This isn't good," Janeway said, frowning worriedly. "And if that's the case, then I have no reason to be stuck in here. Whatever this is, it's already out of the bag."

Kes's voice came over the comm. "Kes to sickbay. Gerron just collapsed in the airponics bay."

"I'll help bring him in," Janeway said toward Smithee, who nodded back.

Janeway left sickbay and hurried out down the corridor. The space that had been converted into the airponics bay was on the same level as sickbay, in an unused laboratory. In between the rows of small plants, the Bajoran man lay prone on the floor.

"He's having difficulty breathing," Kes said.

"Come, help me get him to sickbay," Janeway said.

Between the two of them, they carried the man back down the corridor, and put him on a biobed in sickbay.

Smithee came over and scanned him with the medical tricorder. "This is no good. He needs oxygen!"

"I'm on it," Janeway said, pulling out an oxygen mask and placing it over the Bajoran's face.

Smithee injected him with a hypospray. "Whatever is wrong, it seems to affect Bajorans more strongly than humans. Doesn't seem to have affected Vulcans or Klingons at all."

Janeway pulled up the crew manifest and glanced over it. "There are three other Bajorans on the ship. We'd better make sure they're alright, and haven't passed out alone in their quarters."

She notified Chakotay, and quickly arranged to send small groups after each of the Bajorans, leaving Janeway and Kes to go see to Seska. They found the Bajoran woman in her quarters, reading a datapad and coughing a bit, but otherwise seeming alright.

"Is there a problem?" Seska asked.

"We need to get you to sickbay, Seska," Janeway said.

"I'm fine," Seska said. "It's just a bit of a cough."

"Still, best to be on the safe side and get you checked up," Janeway said.

"Gerron passed out while we were working," Kes said.

"Absolutely not," Seska said. "It's against my religion."

Janeway stared at her, and raised an eyebrow. "The other Bajorans don't seem to have any problems with being examined by a human."

"Well, of course Gerron couldn't complain, if he were unconscious," Seska pointed out.

"Look, people could be dying here," Janeway said. She could respect an alien culture's beliefs, but had to wonder at the dangerous and self-destructive lengths some took them to.

"I'd rather not see you die just because you refused to get examined," Kes added.

"Is it really that bad?" Seska said.

"We don't know yet," Janeway said.

"Gerron was pretty bad, though," Kes said. "He could hardly breathe."

Janeway hoped that Seska could see reason. They had few enough crew members left as it was. They didn't need anyone dying for no good reason. Janeway hoped that the woman's foolishness didn't cost her her life.

Seska coughed heavily. She didn't sound good. "A little cough isn't going to kill me. But alright, alright, I'm going."

Janeway and Kes helped her to sickbay. At least she could still walk.

Once in sickbay, Smithee came over to examine her, giving her a thorough scan with the medical tricorder. "Hmm..." Smithee said.

"How are the patients doing, Doc?" Chakotay asked.

"Recovering a bit once I got the masks on them," Smithee said. "But I'm getting peculiar readings from this one. How odd."

"Peculiar how?" Janeway wondered.

"She's not Bajoran at all," Smithee said. "She's Cardassian."

"_What?_" Chakotay exclaimed, looking accusingly toward Seska.

Janeway frowned deeply and turned her gaze back to Seska's semi-conscious form. A Cardassian? Really?

"No, no," Seska insisted through coughing. "I had Orkell's disease when I was young. I got a transfusion from a Cardassian woman named Kattell."

"Really," Smithee said. "So they slurped up the entire Cardassian and shoved her into you, did they?"

"Come on, Chakotay, you know me," Seska rasped.

"And that's why it hurts all the more to think that you're a Cardassian spy."

"She could have been surgically altered in order to infiltrate the Maquis," Smithee said. "I'm detecting too much Cardassian in her for her to really be what she appears to be."

"Damn this," Chakotay muttered.

"No wonder she was so reluctant to come to sickbay," Janeway said.

Chakotay turned to Smithee and said, "Don't waste our drugs on this traitor. Nor your time."

"I wasn't going to," Smithee said, turning back to tend the Bajorans. "Damned Cardassians. I'm a scientist, not a doctor. I don't have any oaths or obligations to help anyone I don't want to."

"You're just going to leave her to die?" Kes said incredulously.

"I can't say I was ever fond of the Cardassians myself," Janeway said, looking between Chakotay and Smithee in shock. "But she's sick and needs help!"

"Your damned Federation gave over our worlds to the Cardassians," Chakotay said. "And then declared us outlaws when we refused to accept that. But I'm not about to find myself bowing to the Federation all the way out here in the Delta Quadrant."

"Kes, help me out here," Janeway said, grabbing an oxygen mask and putting it over Seska's face, and Kes moved to assist her. She wasn't about to stand by and allow someone to die like this, and Seska was barely conscious as it was.

"If you save her, her life is on your hands," Chakotay said. "You're going to take full responsibility for any harm she might cause in the future."

"Fine," Janeway said. "I'm not going to let her die."

Janeway was no doctor herself, but even she could tell that Seska's condition was starting to stabilize once the mask was on her. At least she wasn't getting any worse, for the moment.

* * *

B'Elanna looked through the Kunar ship, irritated that she was having to do this with Tuvok. Just because they were both immune to whatever was going on, why did she have to work with the traitor Vulcan? It's not like there weren't other Vulcans on the ship!

And while she was busy at work on the ship's computer, he was scanning the stupid flowers that the alien had been carrying. "Stop smelling the flowers and help me with this, Starfleet!"

"I am merely examining all possible avenues of infection," Tuvok replied smoothly.

"They're _flowers_," B'Elanna snarled.

"They are also emitting a pollen that-"

"If you're not going to help, then get out," B'Elanna snapped.

Tuvok gazed at her for a few moments, before turning and quietly leaving the craft with the box of flowers. B'Elanna, grateful for the momentary peace and quiet, went back to examining the vessel's computer for any indication of where it might have come from. Damned Vulcans. Damned Starfleet traitors.

* * *

Janeway glanced up from her patient as Tuvok came into sickbay, carrying a box of red flowers. Those were the ones from the ship, weren't they? He put it down and set up a containment field around it.

"Something about the flowers, Tuvok?" Janeway asked, frowning as she looked over.

"I am not certain," Tuvok replied.

Janeway went over and ran some scans over the alien flowers herself. They were definitely letting off some sort of pollen, but she couldn't see how that would cause this. Then again, the symptoms she'd seen exhibited by the human crew members seemed more akin to allergies than anything else. Could this have been the problem?

Frowning thoughtfully, Janeway sent off a message to B'Elanna. "Torres, could you see about getting the air filters cleaned up?"

"I'm busy, damn it," the half-Klingon woman growled back over the comm. "Chakotay sent me to decipher the alien craft's computers to figure out where it came from."

"The ventilation on this ship is atrocious," Janeway said. "Get your engineers on it. You're not the only one on the ship."

"Fine," B'Elanna snapped. "I don't see what the point is, but I suppose it couldn't hurt."

"Given that we've apparently got an airborne infection of some sort loose on the ship?" Janeway said. "I'm frankly shocked that this wasn't done sooner."

"Whatever," B'Elanna replied.

This was ridiculous. Adhering to Starfleet regulations was one thing, but this was almost like the Maquis _wanted_ to get themselves killed by one thing or another. Utter carelessness. For space exploration, this simply would not do. Once this situation was resolved, she was going to have a good, long talk with Chakotay about this.

* * *

"This was not a disease," Janeway said firmly. "It was a severe allergic reaction to an alien substance, exacerbated by improper decontamination measures and air circulation that allowed it to spread to the entire ship within a short period of time."

Chakotay rubbed his forehead. He didn't need to be lectured, even if he had to admit that she _was_ right. "How are our patients?"

"Recovering," Smithee said. "Gerron, Tabor, and Kenn should be fine soon. I just... I can't believe I didn't even think of something like that. I'm clearly not cut out for medicine."

"It wasn't your fault, Ann," Chakotay assured her. Just because the poor woman didn't have any formal training didn't mean she wasn't doing the best with what she knew.

"I don't think the Kunar is going to make it, though," Smithee said. "All four of his lungs are in bad condition. He's barely holding in there still."

"I found records in his ship's computer of the origin of his vessel," B'Elanna puts in, bringing up the location on the map in the conference room. "Two days' journey away, and not far out of our way."

Chakotay nodded. "We'll head there. Maybe, with any luck, we might be able to get a new ally for our trouble."

* * *

Seska slowly woke, and opened her eyes. She wasn't in sickbay anymore, but in a small side room. Probably someplace that could be more easily secured. She didn't doubt that the door was sealed and there were guards posted outside. It's what she'd do. Janeway was sitting beside her, monitoring her condition.

"Janeway?" Seska said, looking up at her in confusion. "Why did you save me?"

"I didn't think you deserved to die like that," Janeway replied. "Chakotay disagreed, of course."

"Of course," Seska said, sighing. All that work, dashed to nothing. And then she was spared by Starfleet altruism. Fine, she could work with this still, somehow.

"So, this is why you were so leery of going to sickbay?" Janeway said. "Chakotay certainly wasn't happy about discovering a Cardassian on board his ship."

"I can imagine," Seska said, frowning deeply. "You know, before this, the Orkett's disease excuse had fooled most people who didn't look too closely. I'm surprised the ruse worked this long, frankly."

"Cat's out of the bag now," Janeway said. "There's no use trying to hide it anymore."

Seska absently wondered what a cat might be. "So, what are you going to do with me now?"

"That all depends upon you, I suppose," Janeway said, folding her arms across her chest and looking down at her.

"What do you mean?" Seska asked.

"We can hardly keep you locked up forever. We could always drop you off somewhere. Or... you can find a way to reconcile."

"Reconcile?" Seska scoffed. "They're Maquis. They hate my kind."

"And they aren't terribly fond of Starfleet, either. And yet I saved your life."

"If you think that's supposed to make me feel grateful toward you, when I'm sure you have your own agenda on why you did it, then think again." Seska paused, and shook her head. "Still. I have no desire to be left behind, or worse. I want to get home again as much as anyone else on this ship."

"Then perhaps it's best to come clean and apologize to those you deceived," Janeway said.

"You think an apology is going to make this better?" Seska said, looking at her incredulously.

"No, but it's a start," Janeway replied. "Maybe if you're convincing enough, they might even believe you're sincere."

"Hmm..." There might still be some way to salvage the situation. She'd just need to put on some very good lies. "I'll give it a shot."

Janeway left her alone for a while, and Chakotay came in to speak with her a little later. Chakotay, for his part, didn't appear happy at all to be talking to her. But Seska knew what she was going to say. Just what she needed to do to tug at his sympathies.

"This had better be good," Chakotay said.

"Oh, Chakotay," Seska said, putting on all the charm she could muster. "I'm so sorry that this had to come out like this. I was so afraid that you'd hate me if it ever were discovered, and I couldn't bear the thought of that."

"Who were you really working for, Seska?" Chakotay said. "Assuming that's even your real name."

"At first, I was spying for Cardassia," Seska replied. "But over time, I slowly came to know and care for the Maquis, and especially for you."

If Chakotay believed that, he'd believe anything. But Seska was good at bending the truth. She wouldn't have gotten as far as she had if she weren't.

"Seska..." Chakotay sighed heavily and put his hand to his forehead. Seska knew she could get to him that way.

"Please believe me. I don't want to lose you now, not after all we've been through together. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"How do you expect me to ever trust you again?" Chakotay said, looking at her plaintively.

"You seem to trust those Starfleet well enough," Seska said bitterly. "Even the Vulcan, who was doing no differently than I was at first, and he's unrepentent about it."

Chakotay paused for a few moments. "I suppose you have a point. We do need all the help we can get... and I'm not just going to abandon you, whatever you've done."

Victory. Seska grinned inwardly, but turned the expression on her face into a warm, grateful smile. "Thank you, Chakotay. All I can hope for is that you can forgive me for my deception."

Chakotay said, "Tell me, what would you have done if we hadn't found out that you're a Cardassian?"

"I'd remain a member of the crew, helping us all to get home by any means necessary."

"And once we were home again?" he pressed. "Would you have delivered us into the waiting arms of Cardassia, or would you tell them to piss off?"

"I wouldn't betray you. I could never just turn over my new comrades."

Maybe she would have, maybe she wouldn't. It was a moot question now. By the time they got home, the entire situation was likely to change. There might not be any Maquis anymore. There might not even be any Cardassia anymore. Who knew what could happen? The only thing that mattered was the situation on her hands now. And she was willing to say whatever she had to in order to regain their trust.

"I'm going to need to think on this," Chakotay said.

"Of course. Just remember that I do still care about you."

* * *

Chakotay still wasn't sure what to make of Seska, but he had other things to worry about right now. The _Val Jean_ had arrived in the system of a Kunar colony, which Neelix identified as Seronia.

"Be warned, they're pretty strict," Neelix said. "They like everything to be neatly in order."

"Bring us into orbit," Chakotay said.

Before they even got into orbit, Tuvok said, "Captain, we are being hailed."

"Put them on."

The image of a Kunar male appeared on the viewscreen. "Unknown vessel, identify yourself."

"This is the Maquis starship _Val Jean_. I am Chakotay, the captain of this vessel."

"What is the purpose of your visit to Seronia?"

"We have a sick Kunar on board our ship," Chakotay explained. "We came to deliver him back to his people for treatment."

"What is the name and caste of your passenger?"

"We don't know. He's been unconscious since we found him."

"What was he wearing?" the Kunar on the screen pressed impatiently.

Chakotay couldn't remember. He glanced aside to Tuvok for help.

"He wore deep blue clothing, with a dark red sash," Tuvok answered.

"You should have left him where he was, then. Was there no beacon informing you of his status?"

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you are talking about," Chakotay said. "We followed a distress signal..."

"Perhaps you mistook the marker beacon for a distress signal. I assure you that it was not. This is not a matter that we speak of with outsiders. Return him to his ship at once, along with the Morlesian death flowers. You should feel fortunate that they did not kill you as well."

"Pardon me. Death flowers?" Were they _intentionally_ trying to kill this man? Or was it a suicide? What was going on here?

"Did you not find a pot or box full of red flowers on the ship? They emit a pollen that is fatal to our kind. I do not know how they affect _your_ species."

"We did," Chakotay replied, frowning deeply. "If we have interfered with some custom or ritual of your culture, I apologize. We were merely attempting to help."

"Your _help_ has disrupted the honorable death of a high-ranking noble. You may place the funeral vessel in orbit of the red gas giant in this system, if you do not wish to return to the system where you found it. But be certain that this is done, and do not interfere with our rituals any further."

The viewscreen went back to displaying the system before them as the transmission was cut off from the other side. Chakotay turned to look at Neelix. Again, the reality of the situation wasn't quite as the Talaxian had warned of.

"Neelix..." Chakotay said.

"I swear, they've never behaved like that for me before!" Neelix insisted.

Chakotay sighed and put his face in his palm. "You're lucky that Kes is proving to be more useful than you."

He took a deep breath as he turned to head down to sickbay. He should give Neelix the benefit of the doubt. If this matter was something that the Kunar didn't talk about with outsiders, how was he to know about it?

"How's the Kunar, Doc?" Chakotay asked once he got to sickbay.

"Dying," Smithee replied. "And I don't know enough about his biology to save him, nor particularly care enough, either."

Chakotay nodded. "We're putting him back in his ship, along with the damned flowers."

Janeway looked up from where she was examining a readout, probably on Seska's condition. "What happened?"

Chakotay briefly explained the bizarre encounter with the Kunar over the comm. "And I don't really care to argue over it."

"What, you're actually respecting another's culture now?" Janeway said.

"This has all been more trouble than it's worth," Chakotay said. "We all could have died here, and for what?"

"For the sake of good intentions," Janeway said.

"I say, to hell with good intentions," Smithee said. "We need to take care of our own."

Chakotay couldn't really argue with that sentiment at the moment.

* * *

"So, have we learned a lesson here?" Janeway asked as they saw the dying Kunar away.

"Look before you leap?" Ayala suggested.

"Beware of Cardassians in Bajoran clothing?" Chakotay added.

"Institute proper quarantine and decontamination procedures?" Tuvok put in.

"Well, that's something, I suppose," Janeway said.


	4. Entanglements

**Episode 4: Entanglements**

* * *

Chakotay wasn't sure what to think about the situation with Seska. He still didn't think he could really trust her, but it wasn't like there was a Cardassia to turn them over to out here in the Delta Quadrant.

"You look like you've got a lot on your mind," Janeway said, sitting down across from him with a hot cup of _motchi_.

"Just thinking about Seska," Chakotay replied.

"Never saw it coming, huh?"

"Between her and Tuvok, it makes me wonder if anyone on this ship was working for _me_," Chakotay said with a snort.

"I'm sure it's not that bad." Janeway sipped at her beverage.

"You know, we're not going to have _motchi_ forever," Chakotay pointed out. "And the way you drink it, I doubt the airponics bay could keep up with your consumption alone."

"Maybe if I kept it down to one cup a day?"

"Hmm, I know! If you ever annoy me with Starfleet nonsense, I'll just cut off your supply of coffee-like substances."

"Now that's just cruel."

Chakotay chuckled softly. There might still be some rough spots here and there as Janeway fell back into old patterns, but he was surprised and pleased that she'd taken so readily to being on board a Maquis ship. She didn't strike him as nearly as much of a hypocrite as some Starfleet officers that he'd known in his time.

The tone in the mess hall shifted suddenly as Seska walked in. She'd somehow managed to convince Doc Smithee to help restore her original Cardassian appearance. The entire crew had known about her true nature less than an hour after her exposure in sickbay, but it would take a while before they got used to actually _seeing_ a Cardassian on board the ship.

Seska grabbed a tray of food, and came over to Chakotay's table to sit. He was a little uncomfortable about this still, and tensed involuntarily at her approach.

"Good morning, Seska," Chakotay said with forced politeness. "How are you?"

"Better. Glad to be out of sickbay finally." Seska gave Janeway a long look.

"Should I leave you two alone?" Janeway asked, preparing to get up.

"No, do stay," Chakotay told her before Seska could say anything.

Janeway settled back into her seat, although she didn't take her eyes off of Seska. Although everyone was putting on a show of being cordial and pleasant, the tension at the table was thick enough to cut it with a knife.

"So, Chakotay, darling..." Seska began.

"Seska..." Chakotay replied.

He and Seska had been an item at one point, sure. But they'd broken it off for a reason, and that reason hadn't changed with her turning out to be a Cardassian. But the way she'd gone on about how she still cared for him left him wondering if he'd been wrong about her after all. It wouldn't be the first time it had happened.

"I wanted to apologize again," Seska said. "For everything. I know things haven't always been as smooth as they could be between us, but I was hoping, especially given our current circumstances..."

Chakotay sighed. What could he say to that? "I'll think about it."

He was glad Janeway was still there. Seska might not have any shame about going on about heartfelt confessions in public, but at least it gave him an excuse not to say or do much just yet.

Neelix approached their table, still wearing his apron. "Captain, I've been looking at our star charts. We're close to the planet Raknimar. We should stop there to collect food supplies to supplement our stores."

"Raknimar?" Chakotay said. "Tell me about this planet." He was dubious about any advice Neelix gave, but figured it was probably worth a shot.

"It's a primordial world; no intelligent species live there. But the plantlife is lush, with fruits and vegetables growing bigger than my head!"

"That's not really all that impressive," Ayala commented dryly from the next table, and Chakotay snickered.

"This tip better work out better than your previous ones, or you're fired," Chakotay told Neelix. "Or at least demoted to kitchen duty."

"Any dangers we should know about?" Janeway asked.

"Well, the animal life is pretty big, too," Neelix said. "But nothing a phaser shouldn't be able to handle."

"There has to be some reason why no one has colonized this planet yet," Janeway said.

"Back when the Trabe ran this part of space, it was a protected planet to allow for natural development," Neelix said. "Now, there's been a lot of poaching, but still no permanent settlements. The Kazon turn up here from time to time to show how macho they are by wrestling giant animals or some such."

"We'll have to keep an eye out for Kazon, then," Chakotay said.

"We always have to keep an eye out for Kazon," Janeway commented.

* * *

Janeway prepared her team for the away mission. Tuvok was providing security and piloting the shuttle, and Seska and Kes were coming along for their experience with plants and biology. Nobody wanted a repeat of the death flowers incident.

"Everyone ready?" Janeway said, looking over the other three assembled in the shuttle bay. They nodded to her and replied in the affirmative. "Let's go."

The four of them climbed aboard the shuttle, and Tuvok brought them out toward the planet. Raknimar was, indeed, a lush world, a beautiful world to Janeway's eye. Rainforests stretched across the areas that weren't covered by shallow, warm oceans.

"I will attempt to find a place to land," Tuvok said.

After a bit of searching, Tuvok brought the shuttle in for a landing on top of a rocky hill jutting out of the forest. Janeway led the away team out of the shuttle, pulling out her tricorder and scanning the area as she went.

"This world is incredible," Kes breathed as she gazed around with wide eyes.

Enormous flowers hung from between towering, mossy trees, and Janeway spotted an insect with wings as long as her arm. She imagined that this might have been something like Earth had been like, millions of years ago.

"Alright, let's see if we can find something edible around here," Janeway said. "Everyone stick together, and stay alert. The higher than average concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere allows the animal life to grow very large."

Janeway scanned a number of tubers, fruits, and gourds with her tricorder, and sorted out which ones would provide nutrition to the species aboard the ship without causing any unhealthy side effects. At least they didn't have to deal with the dietary requirements of any of the more unusual species the Federation had encountered in the past.

"It is problematic to discern the movements of individual lifeforms in this locale," Tuvok observed. "We must be cautious."

They began to harvest and gather up some vegetables to take back to the shuttle. There might not be anything like _motchi_ among them, but this would certainly help to reduce their dependence upon the half-broken replicator for a while at least.

"These look delicious," Kes said, running her fingers over the skin of a cluster of bright red berries.

"Sometimes the things that look most delicious turn out to be foul and bitter," Janeway commented. "And sometimes it's the other way around, and the nastiest looking things turn out to be absolutely delectable."

"I would like to point out that different species, and even different cultures, may perceive the flavor of certain foods in a different manner," Tuvok said. "Some may consider certain qualities to be desirable and pleasing, while others prefer another set of qualities instead."

"Thank you for that observation, Tuvok," Seska said dryly.

Then, as Janeway gathered up a large gourd in her arms to haul back, she heard a hissing sound from somewhere nearby, closer than the ambient noises of the forest.

"Kathryn, look out!" Tuvok shouted in alarm.

She didn't even see them approach. Suddenly, spiders the size of large dogs dropped out of the trees all around them. Tuvok's phaser took down one, but there were too many of them. Janeway dropped the gourd, leaving it to break and splatter at her feet, and whipped out her phaser. She hardly got it to hand before a sticky webbing shot out at her, covering her body. Firing wildly, Janeway didn't manage to hit any of the spiders, only scoring a burn mark on a nearby tree.

Janeway felt a sharp prick in her leg as one of the spiders bit her. Her head began to swim and her vision blurred. Venom! This wasn't how this mission was supposed to go. Her muscles siezed up, and she lost consciousness a moment later.

* * *

Tuvok woke to find himself in a cavern filled with humanoid-shaped sacs of webbing. The lifeforms must have brought their away team here for later feeding. Were the others close by?

"Kathryn?" he called out. "Kes? Seska?"

There was no response. Most likely, his Vulcan physiology had recovered more quickly from the lifeforms' venom than theirs. He shifted within his sac as he slowly regained control over his body again. Fortunately, the lifeforms that had captured them were merely of animal intelligence, and were not sapient. They had not disarmed him. His phaser was still firmly in hand, where it had been when the beings had overwhelmed him.

Tuvok had failed to protect Janeway. Logically, he had done all he could in the situation he had found himself in. Now, however, it was his duty to free himself and Janeway, and return her to the vessel safely. He should make some effort to rescue Kes and Seska as well, but Janeway was his priority. She was still his commanding officer, and he remained loyal to her, even though circumstances had forced them to take up positions among the crew of a Maquis vessel.

Blindly adjusting his phaser, Tuvok fired and cut through the webbing carefully. He did not wish to accidentally hit one of the other sacs. A phaser wasn't precisely intended for a task of this nature, but it accomplished what he set out to do nevertheless.

Tuvok tried his communicator first. "Tuvok to _Val Jean_." No response. "Tuvok to _Val Jean_. Come in _Val Jean_."

"Is someone there?" asked a male voice from somewhere nearby.

There had not been any other males on their away team. Someone else must have been on the planet and was unfortunate enough to have been captured by the lifeforms.

"I am Tuvok, of the Maquis vessel _Val Jean_. Who are you?" he asked.

"Kar, of the Kazon-Ogla."

Although the Kazon were no friends to them, Tuvok saw no need to leave this one in the clutches of aggressive wildlife. Perhaps taking a cooperative attitude toward him might yield more beneficial relations with his people in the future.

Tuvok follows the Kazon's voice to discern which sac he was held in, and carefully used his phaser to release him. A juvenile Kazon fell out of the sac, looking somewhat emaciated and exhausted.

"How long have you been held here?" Tuvok asked.

"I don't know," Kar replied. "But it feels like forever. The others have probably already moved on by now and left me for dead."

"We detected no Kazon presence in this system when we arrived."

"So, it must have been at least three days," Kar says. "They would have given me at least that long."

"What was your original purpose on this planet?" Tuvok asked, inspecting another sac closely.

Tuvok pulled out his tricorder in an effort to locate the other members of the away team, He searched for lifesigns within the sacs, especially any signs of human, Ocampa, or Cardassian.

"I was here to get a worthy kill, to bring back a trophy and earn my clan name," Kar replied. "And then, like a fool, I got taken down while trying to fight one of these creatures."

Aiming his phaser carefully, Tuvok opened up another one of the sacs. Kes dropped out of it, still unconscious. He grabbed her in his arms and lowered her to the floor gently so as to avoid further injury.

"I would not attribute your capture to foolishness," Tuvok said. "We were overwhelmed by the lifeforms, and there were four of us."

"But you're not Kazon," Kar argued. "I should have been able to handle it."

Tuvok did not care to argue about the comparative physical characteristics of Vulcans and Kazon, and merely continued to extract his teammates from their sacs. Janeway came next, and then finally Seska, who looked to be starting to regain consciousness herself.

"Ugh, what happened..." murmured Seska groggily.

"We were taken captive by a group of local lifeforms," Tuvok explained. "I believe that they intended to consume us at a later time."

"Oh, that's just lovely," Seska muttered.

"I do not know when the lifeforms might return," Tuvok said. "Be alert."

He leaned down to examine Janeway, wishing that he had a hypospray on him that could revive her. But he could see that the venom was starting to wear off, and she groaned softly.

* * *

Janeway opened her eyes, blinking at the dimly lit cavern that surrounded her. But her eyelids seemed to be about the only thing she could move. She could _feel_ her lower body, but her muscles simply would not respond. She imagined that it was probably some effect from the spider venom.

"Where are we?" Janeway asked.

Tuvok answered, "According to my tricorder, we are presently located in a cavity three hundred and seventy-eight meters north-northeast and forty-seven meters down from our landing site. There is interference preventing my communicator from establishing contact with our vessel."

"We've got to get out of here," Seska said, bringing her phaser to hand and looking around for an exit.

"Kes still appears to be unconscious," Tuvok said.

"Bah, leave her!" Seska snapped. "What do we need her for, anyway? She's just extra baggage."

"How can you say that?" Janeway said, horrified. "And besides. I still can't move."

Chakotay deserved better than this. Seska might be trying to make the moves on him, but Maquis or no, Chakotay was a noble man. What had he ever seen in Seska?

"I will not leave you behind, Kathryn," Tuvok said.

There also appeared to be a young Kazon boy in the cave with them. He reached down and picked up Kes's phaser, and asked, "How do you work this thing?"

"You do not intend to use that against us, do you, Kar?" Tuvok asked.

"No," the Kazon, Kar apparently, said. "I want to fight those monsters. I want to get an honorable kill and earn my name for my clan."

Tuvok went over to explain the phaser controls to the young Kazon.

"I never expected to be defended by a Kazon, but I won't complain," Janeway said.

"Don't think that I'm doing this for you," Kar snapped. "And aren't you the ones that destroyed the Caretaker array? I'm surprised to see you without your uniforms, Starfleet."

"Hey, those two might be Starfleet, but I'm not!" Seska protested.

"Circumstances may not be precisely as you perceive them, Kar," Tuvok said.

"You helped me, so I'm not going to attack you," Kar said. "But once we're off this planet, we're enemies again."

"Kar, the _Val Jean_ is not a Starfleet vessel," Janeway said as diplomatically as she could manage. "There are only three former Starfleet officers on board our vessel, and we've given up the uniforms."

"In addition, the destruction of the Caretaker array was not our intention," Tuvok adds.

Clearly the boy was just going off of what he had been told. Janeway doubted whether he had even been present for those events.

"You- You were still opposing us, though," Kar said. "You're enemies of the Kazon-Ogla."

"If I had left you in that sac, or killed you here, your clan would have had no way of knowing what had truly happened to you," Tuvok said. "And yet, I freed you, because we do not desire to be your enemies."

"And I have no desire to get eaten by a giant spider, either," Janeway said.

"Technically, they are not actually arachnids," Tuvok said. "They are-"

"Don't. Care."

"Something's coming," Seska breathed.

A skittering sound could be heard approaching, claws scraping against the rock and scurrying toward them. From where Janeway was laying, she could see a spider loom into view, much larger than the previous ones that had attacked them. Her heart pounded - she hated to be laying here helpless, with only Tuvok, a Kazon, and a Cardassian to protect her. This wasn't good. Not good at all.

The three of them that were on their feet fired their phasers at the spider in an attempt to bring it down. They concentrated fire upon it, trying to find a weak spot in its tough exoskeleton. The spider staggered for a moment, and then clambered forward, striking Tuvok and knocking him side with an appendage.

"Tuvok!" Janeway shouted.

Kar charged forward and fired his phaser directly into the spider's mouth. It wasn't a direct shot, and the spider kept coming. It was almost on top of the Kazon now. Kar growled and aimed a shot straight into the spider's mouth. This time, it stumbled back, and after a moment, it fell to the ground, twitching.

Tuvok got up and straightened himself out. "Well done, Kar."

"It took me a little longer than I'd thought, but if that doesn't earn me my name, nothing will," Kar said. "Hmm, now which bit of this creature would make for the best trophy..." He leaned down to use the phaser to cut off one of the spider's claws, and tucked it away into his belt.

Kes groaned softly as she started to come to. She climbed to her feet after a moment, looking around the room wide-eyed. Janeway, however, still couldn't move. Was she the only one who would have to be dragged out of this cave? How embarrassing. She hated the idea of being reduced to the damsel in distress.

"That is a big... whatever it is," Kes said, staring at the dead spider.

"And I killed it," Kar said with pride.

"You had help," Seska scoffed.

"Kathryn, are you capable of walking?" Tuvok asked.

"I can't even manage to shake my head in response to your question," Janeway replied dejectedly.

"We must depart from this place, preferably before more of the lifeforms arrive," Tuvok said. "I will carry you."

Tuvok bent down to pick up Janeway and sling her over his shoulder. Once she was in place, he made sure that his other hand was free to use his phaser.

Kes nervously picked up Janeway's fallen phaser, and said, "Is the Kazon actually helping us?"

"For the moment," Kar replied.

They made their way out of the cave and back to the surface. Janeway heard a skittering sound as they were emerging from the cave, and her crewmates fired their phasers at the spiders.

"They are disorganized and scattered," Tuvok observed.

"Most of them are just running away," Kes said.

"The beasts know when they have met their match," Kar said. "We slew the greatest of them. What hope do these others have against us?"

"They are still capable of overwhelming us if we are not careful," Tuvok said.

"Let's just get back to the shuttle and get out of here," Seska said. "I've had enough of this planet."

"I can't argue with that," Janeway said.

* * *

Chakotay paced around by the shuttle bay even before the away team returned. He didn't really want to admit to himself that he was worried about Janeway.

"Quit your pacing, or I'll have to give you a sedative," Dr. Smithee said.

"Hey, I _am_ the captain here," Chakotay said.

"And if you're going to make me be the ship's doctor, I'm going to exercise my right to tell you when you're behaving in an unhealthy manner."

"This isn't Starfleet," Chakotay protested.

"Or you could always find yourself another doctor," Smithee commented. "Good luck on that one."

"Fine, fine." Chakotay rolled his eyes and leaned against the bulkhead.

The shuttle arrived, and the two of them went out to meet with the away team. Smithee ran her medical tricorder over Janeway, and then injected her with a hypospray.

"That should help to counteract the venom."

"I'm going to give Neelix a piece of my mind after this," Chakotay muttered.

"To be entirely fair to him, he _did_ warn us about the potentially dangerous lifeforms on the planet," Tuvok said.

Chakotay jumped in surprise as he saw a young Kazon poke his head out of the shuttle. "You didn't mention you had a... guest."

"My apologies," Tuvok said. "My primary concern was with Kathryn's well-being. I should have notified you, however."

"I am Kar, of the Kazon-Ogla."

"Chakotay, of the Maquis vessel _Val Jean_. You should be aware that this isn't a passenger vessel."

"I can give information to pay for my safe passage," Kar said. "There are some of your people being held by mine. Some more of you humans. I can tell you where they are."

"There were others who survived the destruction of _Voyager_?" Janeway said, her eyes widening in hope.

Chakotay frowned a little. "That would be acceptable. Give us the location, and we will set a course. But be warned that if this is a trap, it will be on _your_ head. I don't care if you're just a kid. I won't show any mercy to treachery of that nature."

"I'm not a child!" Kar said, holding up a large claw from some sort of animal. "I've made an honorable kill and earned my place as an adult among the Kazon-Ogla."

Chakotay peered at the claw, and nodded to him politely. "One who could kill such a beast must be a formidable warrior."

"He had help!" Seska protested.

"_You_ stood back while I practically shoved my hand in its mouth!" Kar said.

"I don't suppose the team managed to collect any food while you were down there," Chakotay said.

"We kind of had other problems at the time," Janeway said.

"A better armed team could return to the surface and gather some, however," Tuvok said. "I fear that my presence alone proved insufficient to protect the others while they harvested the local vegetation."

"We should have listened to Neelix," Janeway muttered. "As must as I hate to say it."

"The flesh of those creatures that attacked us scanned as edible," Seska said. "We killed a number of them while we were there. We could collect that, too."

"I'm not eating any giant spiders," Janeway protested.

"Would you prefer the stuff that comes out of the replicator?" Chakotay asked.

"Let me get back to you on that."


End file.
